Supporters of the National Broadband Plan's recommendation to take 120 MHz of UHF TV spectrum and allocate it for wireless broadband point to a declining audience for over-the-air TV. In 2011, however, I noticed an increasing number of articles on the Web about dropping cable TV and moving to over-the-air TV and Internet video, not only in the United States, but also in Canada as their DTV transition progressed. People are realizing that in many locations, a simple antenna can give them excellent reception of a variety of programs.

One indication of the increased interest in over-the-air DTV is the success of existing antenna companies such as Antennas Direct, and new companies like Mohu and WallTenna. Easy-to-mount, inconspicuous antennas like the Mohu Leaf and WallTenna make it easy for people to try over-the-air TV.

The availability of streamed video from sources like Hulu and Netflix deserves a lot of credit for making it easier to cut the cable cord, but I have to think that the relative ease of over-the-air DTV reception and the high quality compared to analog TV has something to do with it.

The cord-cutting landscape has changed considerably in the past 12 months, and it’s no longer a fad, but a growing trend as more and more consumers decide that they can get by just fine without expensive pay TV channel packages.